Apparatus for dispensing ice cream



March 3, 1953 w. s. FREDENHAGEN ETAL 2,

I APPARATUS FOR ,DISPENSING 1oz; CREAM Filed April 18. 1947 3Sheets-Sheet l March 3, 1953 Filed April W. S. FREDENHAGEN ETALAPPARATUS FOR DISPENSING ICE CREAM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 U 1v 29/ 1a INVENTR5 fg/y f $0 3% March 1953 w. s. FREDENHAGEN ETAL 2,630,083

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING ICE CREAM 7 Filed April 18, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet3 Patented Mar. 3, 1953 APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING ICE CREAIVI Walter S.Fredenhagen and Mark S. Schmidt, Naperville, Ill.

Application April 18, 1947, Serial No. 742,240

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for dispensing ice creamwhich may be employed either at soda fountains, ice cream bars, or thelike.

Heretofore it has been customary to package ice cream in containers ofvarious shapes and sizes. There has been no specific relationshipbetween containers of different sizes except as to the predetermineddifferences in the volume of ice cream containable therein. Variousmeans for dispensing ice cream such as various types of dippers havealso been employed. However, these dippers were generally of scoop formand although they bore a volumetric relationship to the containers fromwhich ice cream was dispensed there was no lineal dimensionalrelationship to these containers. It would be desirable to provide anarrangement whereby a standard container or a series of standardcontainers of different sizes were employed whereby a dipper of apredetermined configuration having dimensions so related to thestandardized ice cream containers could be used with the result that theoperator dispensing the ice cream must dispense a predetermined numberof dips per package, the measurement of the dip being determined by thelength, width, and depth of the dipper. With this arrangement there isassurance of uniform dispensation of ice cream to each customer and inaddition there is provided a means of maintaining a check upon theperson dispensing the ice cream by virtue of the fact that the ice creamcontained within a particular container will produce a predeterminednumber of dips known in advance.

It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improvedapparatus for dispensing ice cream.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rectangularstandard container for ice cream, together with a rectangular dipper forremoving the ice cream from the container in units of uniform size, withthe lineal dimensions of the dipper being so related to the length,width and thickness of the standardized ice cream container that theoperator dispensing the ice cream will dispense a predetermined numberof dips per package.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide standardizedice cream packaging units from a two-gallon size down to a pint size, inwhich a predetermined number of smaller size containers will accuratelyfit within the larger size containers to facilitate the problem 10fpackage handling in transporting packaged and bulk ice cream from thepackaging point to the retail outlets, while at the same time permittingthe use of a new and improved dipper for dispensing a predeterminedintegral number of clips from at least one of said standardizedpackaging units.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds and the features ofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference may be hadto the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a standard two-galloncontainer made in accordance with the present invention, showing howfour one-half gallon containers of the construction made in accordancewith the present invention can readily be accommodated therein;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the standardized two-gallonpackage or container of the present invention, showing how sixteen pintcontainers also constructed in accordance with the present invention aredisposed therein;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a two-gallon container of the presentinvention together with the dipper for dispensing the same showing thedimensional relationship between the dipper and the container so as toprovide a predetermined integral number of dips of ice cream;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the dipper shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified dipper for dipping ice creamin accordance with the present invention with the plunger shown in oneextreme position;

Fig. 7 is an elevational view partly in section of the dipper shown inFig. 6 with the plunger moved to the other extreme portion from thatshown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-43 of Fig. 7, assuming Fig. 7shows a complete device, with the plunger, however, moved to theposition of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 9 is a view looking in the direction of the arrows 9--9 of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings there is i1lustrated what may be referredto as the standard two-gallon container designated at it in Figs. 1, 2and 3 of the drawings. This so-called standard two-gallon container isrectangular in configura- 3 tion with the length, width and thickness ofthe container having the general relationship shown in the drawings. Atleast one end of each container is provided with flaps 58a, liili, liloand d, which may be moved to overlapping relationship as shown in Fig. 3of the drawings to form a closed container. The fiap ti e is providedwith a slit 5! for accommodating the latch or hooked portion 52 on theflap lild, which is adapted to be inserted in the slit l l therebymaintaining the two-gallon container is in the closed condition. Also inaccordance with the present invention there are provided oiie-haligallon containers it of rectangular configurationsimilar to thecontainer it and dimensioned so that four. one-half gallon containersexactlyfit within one two-gallon container iii as shown in Fig; l or thedrawings. These one-half gallon containers are. provided with end flapssimilar to the end flaps of the container iii, two of them, namely, 53c

and Lid being visible in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

To further complete the standard package line for packaging anddispensing ice cream, there is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings thesame standard two-gallon container it with sixteen pint containers itdisposed therein and of such configuration as to exactly fit within thetwogallon container i9. These containers are substantially identicalexcept for size with the twogallon container being provided with endclosure 3;

flaps two of which, namely, bid and its are visible in Fig. 2 of thedrawings. With this arrangement it is apparent that the pint containersand half gallon containers can be packaged in the factory and disposedwithin the standard. two-gallon coni tainer which is the largest sizecontainer employed. The standard two-gallon container furthermore is ofsuch a size and configuration as to fit within the openings provided infrozen food containers of present construction now in extensive use inall ice cream dispensing establishments.

By employing containers of standardized dimensions such as thetwo-gallon container, the

half gallon containers and the pint containers L referred to above, theproblem of handling and transporting packaged and bulk ice cream fromthe packing point to retail outlets is greatly facilitated. With thesethree sizes or" containers and various combinations thereof any orderfor ice cream from one pint up can readily be filled.

In accordance with an important feature of the present invention, thetwo-gallon container id is used as the basic container from which icecream is dispensed in bulk. This two-gallon container has predetermineddimensions which are directly related to the dimensions of an ice creamdipper generally indicated at it in Figs. 3 to 5 of the drawings.

In order better to understand the construction of the dipper which alsoforms a part of the present invention, reference may be had to Figs. 4and 5 of the drawings where an enlarged view 4- in the container fromwhich it is to be removed by the dipper 5.

The four side members I3, 53, 2d and 2! are held in rectangularrelationship by means of a re"-- tangular top tray member 22a to whichthe handle 23 of the dipper iii is attached. Preferably, as is bestshown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the handle 23 is attached to. onecorner of the top member 22a and the side members !3, i9, and 2| aresuitably fastened thereto in a manner which will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. In order to prevent the ice cream contained in thedipper US from sticking to "the top member 22a a large opening 2 ispreferably provided therein which opening furthermore enables the persondispensing the ice cream to see whether the dipper is thereof isillustrated. Essentially the dipper Iii likeedges at the bottom of all.four side members arranged in a rectangular manner is to provide readymeans for cutting into the ice cream withfully inserted within the icecream. being dispensed;

In order readily to release the ice cream scooped into the dipper is asby pressing the dipper I6 downwardly into the bulk ice cream, the handle23 is. preferably hollow and has supported therein a suitablelongitudinally movable pin 26 supported by an upper closure member 2'?and a lower plug 23 threadedly mounted within the lower end of thehandle 23. lhe handle 23. is preferably provided with an externalsurface which is knurled to form a suitable handle. The pin 26 isactually a plunger to the lower end of which is fastened a piston-likemember 29. The upper end of the plunger 26 is reciprocal within anopening 3% in the top member 21 which opening is of substantial lengthso that the rod is always guided by the member 2! regardless of theposition it assumes during its reciprocating movement.

For the purpose of actuating the piston 29 and consequently thereciprocating rod 26, there is provided a Z-shaped lever 3i having oneend thereof attached to the rod '25 as by means of. a sleeve 32 suitablywelded or the like to the Z- shaped member 3i, and fastened to the rod26 as by means of a set screw 33.. The Z-shaped member 35 protrudesthrough an elongated'slot or opening 3 3 in the handle 23, which handleas was mentioned above ishollow. Consequently, the end 311a of theZ-shaped member 5i extends outside of the handle and is readily actuatedby a suitable finger such, for example, as the thumb of the operator formoving the piston 23 downwardly toeject-the ice cream within therectangular box member i? of the dipper or the scoop It. It will beunderstood that such downward movement of the piston 29 from theposition shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings will cause the ejection of theice cream contained within the scoop portion ll of the dipper ES. Inorder that the piston or ejecting member 2% is normally maintained inits upward position as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, there isprovided a suitable compression spring 35 coaxially arranged, relativeto the rod 223 disposed between the plug 28 threaded in the lower end ofthe handle 23 and the end of the Z-shaped member 3i ias tened to the rod25. 3'

An important feature of the present invention is the dimensionalrelationship between the rectangular scoop or container portion i l of,the dipper i6 and the dimensions of the two-gallon container illdescribed above. As is illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, thecontentsof the twogallon container iii are marked off inrectangularsolids 31, each having a cubicle content equal exactly to thecubicle content of the scoop portion I'! of'th'dippefml' Furthermore,thereutangular solids 3! are of such a shape as to exactly fit withinthe scoop portion ll of the dipper Hi. It will be noted that the volumeof the twogallon container ii} is divided into an integral number of therectangular solids 37, or in other words, the container iii will hold anintegral number of scoops or dips of the dipper I t as illustrated inthe drawings. As illustrated in the drawings, the scoop ll of the dipperl6 substantially forms a cube. It should be understood, however, thatthis particular configuration is not necessary and the dipper l8 may beused to dispense a rectangular solid of ice cream of any configuration.

With the present invention, however, the lineal dimensions of the dipperare so related to the length, width and thickness of the standardizedtwo-gallon ice cream container that a predetermined number of dips perpackage can be obtained. The measurement of the dips being determined bythe length, width and depth of the dipper. It is apparent that with thisarrangement a uniform amount of ice cream will be dispensed to eachcustomer and in addition, a vehicle is provided whereby a check may beobtained upon the clerks who are dispensing the ice cream. In otherwords, each package should contain a predetermined number of dips and itis readily possible to check and determine whether this number of dipswere sold from the two-gallon container.

Although the invention has been described as employing a particular kindof dipper shown in detail in Figs. 3, l and 5 of the drawings, there isillustrated. in Figs. 6 to 9 of the drawings a modified dipperillustrating a preferred embodiment thereof. This dipper generallydesignated at it is shown at the instant of insertion into a quantity ofice cream 6i disposed in a rectangular container 12 which bearspro-determined dimensional relationships to the rectangular scoopportion 43 of the dipper it.

The dipper ii} is or" very simple and compact construction so that itmay be manufactured at low cost and with a minimum of assembly opera- Asillustrated, the scoop portion 43 of the tions. dipper ill is formed ofwalls such as 4312 of relatively thin sheet metal such, for example, asstainless steel or the like. This scoop portion 53 may be formed by ametal stamping operation in a manner well understood by those skilled inthe art. The lower edges of the scoop 43 provide knifelike edgesdesignated at at so as to facilitate insertion thereof into the bulk icecream 4|.

For the purpose of manipulating the scoop portion &3 as by inserting orremoving it from the ice cream 4i there is provided a suitable handle 45which is connected by L-shaped metal members 4i} and ll with the upperpart of the scoop portion 33. The L-shaped members 46 and 4'! areseparated to a lesser extent than the width of the scoop portion 13 asis best shown in Fig. 7 and accordingly the lower portions 46a and 41arespectively of the L-shaped members 46 and 4'! are flared to permit thejoining thereof with the scoop portion 23 as by welding or in any othersuitable manner. The portions 461) and 41b of the L-shaped metalportions 16 and A! are illustrated as being disposed on either side of asuitable insulating member 58 so as to define a suitable pistol griphandle, the portions iiib and All) being fastened to the member 48 as bysuitable rivets or the like indicated at 49. It will be understood thatthe particular construction of the handle 45 is immaterial as far as thepresent in- 6 vention is concerned and it may entirely comprise metal orany other suitable material. It is, however, desirable to have thepiston grip arrangement which permits the operator, as is clearlyevident from Fig. 6 of the drawings, to apply a direct and substantialforce when inserting the scoop portion 43 into the ice cream such as llfor example.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a rectangularplunger member 56 formed or? metal similar to that from which the scoopi3 is formed except that it is of substantially thicker material as isclearly indicated in the drawings. This plunger 56 is connected in anysuitable manner to the lower end or a movable rod 5i mounted for guidedreciprocal movement in a suitable opening defined in a cross piece 52extending between the two L-shaped memers 5 and ll and preferablyintegrally joined thereto as by welding or the like. The end of theplunger 5! extending through the cross piece 52 is provided with asuitable manually engageable button 53 which is preferably manipulatedby the thumb action of the operator in a manner which will becomeapparent from an examination of the drawings. To cushion the engagementof the button viii with the cross piece 52 there is preferably provideda resilient gasket such as which may be associated with either theunderside of the button 53 or the upper side of the cross piece 52. Asillustrated in the drawings, the gasket t l is associated with thebutton 53.

The relative diiicrences in thickness between the walls of the scoopportion 43 and the plunger Ell forms an important feature of the dipperall.

t is, of course, desirable that the ice cream dippedby the scoop d3 ofthe dipper til remain within the scoop portion until forcibly ejected bythe downward movement of the button 53. By virtue of the fact that thewalls 13 are formed of relatively thin material, the insertion of scoopportion 33 into the ice cream will cause these walls to almostimmediately be cooled to a sufficient extent that the ice cream willcling thereto sufilciently until forcibly ejected therefrom bymanipulation of the button 53.

On the other it is desired that no clinging action occurs as between theice cream and the plunger or ejector member 5 3. Since this. plunger 5cis made of a material having a substantial mass it will retain asufficient amount of heat to cause a melting action of the ice creamimmediately adjacent thereto whereupon when an ejecting action isinitiated the ice cream will not stick to the plunger .32. Consequently,with the described arrangement ready release of the ice cream from thescoop portion 43 results without inadvertent release thereof.

It will be noted that the plunger disclosed in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive,is very simple in construction. No spring or similar apparatus forretracting the plunger fill is required since such retracting action tomove from the solid line portion of Fig. 8 to the dotted line portionthereof automatically occurs upon forcing the scoop portion 43 into theice cream in the manner clearly indicated in Fig. 6 or" the drawings.Furthermore, the dipper is so constructed. that the operator may apply aminimum of force in inserting the dipper into the ice cream by pushingin a natural direction, thereby greatly reducing the fatigue of theoperator in dipping the ice cream. This is furthermore facilitated bythe pistol grip arrangement disclosed.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited to the particular construction shown and thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. It is aimed in the appended claimsto cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

l. A dipper for dispensing a food product comprising a rectangular scoopportion having two oppositely disposed open ends one of which isinsertable into bulk ice cream, said scoop being formed of thin metallicmaterial, an L-shaped handle comprising a pair of identical sheet metalL-shaped side portions and means associated with one corresponding legof each of said L-shaped side portions for maintaining said sideportions in spaced parallel relationship, the spacing between said sideportions being less than the smallest dimension of said rectangularscoop portion, means for attaching the ends-of said L- shaped sideportions remote from aid first mentioned means to the scoop portion ofsaid dipper at said other open end so as to provide an eiiective pistolgrip for said dipper to insure ready insertion into bulk ice cream bythe application of a downward force to said handle causing said open endto move in a direction along the vertical axis or" said sccopportionwhen said scoop portion is forced into a mass of bulk ice cream, aplunger movable in said scoop portion, said plunger being formed ofthick metallic material as compared to the material forming the scoopportion, and means comprising a deformation of said Leshaped handle tolimit movement in one direction of said plunger within said scoopportion.

2. A dipper for dispensing a frozen comestible comprising a rectangularscoop portion open at each end with one open end insertable into thefrozen comestible, said scoop portion having the characteristic ofassuming the temperature of the comestibleto produce adherence betweenthe walls of the scoop and the comestible encircled thereby, an L-shapedhandle comprising a pair or identical sheetmetal h-shaped side portionsand means associated with one corresponding leg of each of said L-shapedside portions for maintaining said side portions in spaced parallelrelationship, the spacing between said side portions being less than thesmallest dimension of said rectangular scoop portion, means forattaching the ends of said L-shaped side portions remote from said firstmentioned means to the scoop portion of said dipper at said other openend to provide an effective pistol grip for said dipper thereby insuringready insertion into the comestible by the application of a force tosaid handle to cause said one open end to move in a direction along theaxis of said scoop portion parallel with the walls defining therectangular scoop portion, a plunger movable in said scoop portion andform? ,ing the only closure for said other open end, said plunger beingheat retentive to prevent adherence between the plunger and thecomestible, and means for actuating said plunger including a portionadjacent said pistol grip whereby actuation of the plunger to move itthrough the scoop expels the 'COll'lESElblB from the scoop bymechanically removing the encircled comestible from adherence with thewalls of the scoop.

3. The invention defined by claim 2 in which the scoop portion is formedof thin metallic walls to produce adherence of the comestible theretoand in which the plunger is formed of a large metallic mass relative tothe mass of the walls to produce the heat retentive characteristicwhereby the coinestible does not adhere to the plunger.

-\i/ALIER S. FREDENHAGEN. MARK S. SCHMIDT.

REFERENCES Cl'llEl) The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 335 390 Silbermann et a1. 1 Feb.2, 1886 T973723 Silden Aug. 15, 1905 827,622 Ericson July 31, 1906839,728 Longstreth Sept. 11, 1906 879,496 Curtin Nov. 5, -7 1,352,755Levy Sept. 14, 1920 1,438,3i5 Knowlton Dec. 12, 1922 1,539,678Labombarde May 26, 1925 1,549,974 Holland -s July 14, 1925 1,583,072Landman -1 May a, 19 5 1,721,045 Martineau July 16, 1929 1,896,083l-iarris Feb. 7, 1933 1,909,126 Satterthwaite May 16, 1933 2,937,723ieineman Apr. 21,1936 2,109,192 Cocks Feb. 22, 1938 2,176,752 TaggartOct. 17, 1939 2,389,367 Ranney July 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 4,093 Great Britain Mar. 15, 1915

